A Canadian Russian woman has pleaded guilty for her role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to send electronics to Russia for military use in the war against Ukraine.
Kristina Puzyreva, who has lived in Montreal, pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., to money-laundering conspiracy for helping to send pieces used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and guided missile systems in violation of export and sanctions laws, according to a statement from American prosecutors on Monday.
Puzyreva, 32, her husband, Nikolay Goltsev, 37, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 52, were each charged last fall with smuggling, conspiracy to violate sanctions and wire fraud conspiracy.
An indictment filed in November said Goltsev bought American electronic components for the Russian military for years while living in Canada.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Puzyreva was “a key part of the plan, laundering proceeds from the scheme to evade sanctions and ship UAV and missile components to Russia that were later found on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
More to come.